Multibeverage vending machine



March 20, 1951 J. 'H. GOLDBERG 2,545,514

MULTIBEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet lMITIZ' jjYVEHZC/I JOSE/07L 19. Gala fiery March 20, 1951 I GOLDBERG2,545,614

MULTIBEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March20, 1951 GQLDBERG 2,545,614

MULTIBEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE Filed July 18. 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 gvw'. mm 5717275 March 20, 1951 J. H. GOLDBERG 2,545,614

MULTIBEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jose0% H Goldfiery March 20, 1951 J. H. GOLDBERG 2,545,514

MULTIBEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jensgain H Galabsry Patented Mar. 20, 1951 MULTIBEVERAGE VENDING MACHINEJoseph H. Goldberg, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Drink-O-Matic Co.,Chicago, 111., a. partnership Application July 18, 1945, Serial No.605,679

3 Claims.

This invention relates to vending machines capable of dispensingdifferently flavored carbonated beverages from a single source ofcarbonated water and different sources of flavoring syrups all cooled bya single unit and admixed and dispensed from separate units to preventcontamination or intermixing of the flavors.

Specifically, this invention deals with a carbonated beverage dispenserhaving a plurality of mixing and dispensing units, an electricmotoractuator for each unit, paper cup dispensers adjacent each unit,and a separate source of syrup for each unit together with a singlecarbonator for all of the units and a single refrigerator for thecarbonator and all of the sources of syrup whereby selective operationof amotor will dispense a syrup-flavored refrigerated and carbonateddrink uncontaminated by other flavors dispensed by the other motors butobtained from the same refrigerated source.

A feature of the machines of this invention is the elimination ofsprings thereby lowering the torque requirements of the actuatingmotors.

Another feature of the machines of this invention is the elimination ofheretofore-required brakes or stops for the actuating motors by allowinga permissible range of override for the motors without interfering withthe sequence of operation.

The machines of this invention are coin-actuated and a drink of thedesired flavor is dispensed each time a coin is dropped into theparticular receptacle for actuating the motor to dispense the desireddrink. Contamination of flavors is eliminated by providing an individualsyrup tank, syrup conduit, and mixing and dispensing valve unit for eachflavor while utilizing a common refrigerator and carbonator for allflavors.

It is, then, an object of this invention to provide amulti-beverage-dispensing machine in which all possibilities ofcontaminating one flavor with another have been eliminated.

A still further object of this invention is to provide abeveragedispenser which will selectively vend a drink of a desired flavor from asingle source of refrigerated and carbonated water but from a separatesource of flavor, so that flavor contamination is eliminated.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an electricmotor-actuated beverage vending machine having minimum torque loaddemands on the motor.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a beverage-dispensingmachine wherein a coinactuated electric motor drives cam and pin meansto sequentially dispense a cup, rotate a measuring valve to closedposition, open a charged-water valve, dispense a flavored charged waterdrink into the cup, and dump a measured charge of syrup from themeasuring valve for the next drink to be dispensed while allowing for anoverride of themotor without interfering with the next dispensingoperation.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide amulti-drink-dispensing machine wherein a single refrigerator unit coolscharged water and a plurality of different drink flavors.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a drink-dispensingapparatus having a plurality of syrup-measuring, mixing and dispensing.units each supplied from a single source of charged water and eachhaving an individual source of flavored syrup.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theannexed sheets of drawings which, by way of a preferred example,illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

Onthe drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the multi-beverage-dispensingmachine of this invention having the front cover plate removed.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line IIII ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational view taken along the lineIII-III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, broken, vertical cross-sectional view, withparts in elevation, taken substantially along the line IVIV of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view, with parts in elevation,taken along the line VV of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, with parts in elevation,taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary front elevational view taken substantiallyalong the line VII--VII of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a vertical cross-secti nal view taken along the lineVIIIVIII of Figure 7.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figures 1 and 2 the machine [0 of this invention is shown mounted ina cabinet ll. Of course this cabinet has a front wall (not shown)covering the apparatus in the cabinet.

A mechanical refrigerator ll of the compressor-condenser-evaporator typehas the compressor and condenser thereof mounted in the 3 bottom of thecabinet. An electric motor-driven water pump [3 is also mounted in thebottom of the cabinet and receives water from a pipe 14 to pump thewater through a pipe 15 into the top of a filter IS. The filter l6discharges filtered water through a pipe H. An insulated brine tank [8is mounted in the cabinet H and extends completely across the width ofthe cabinet as shown in Figure l. A coil "I Sisprovided in the brinetank If! and receives water from the pipe I I. The coil 19 dischargesinto a carbonator 28. This carbonator can be of any suitable knownconstruction but is preferably ofthltyp disclosed and claimed in mycopending application ention shown by the arrow in Figure 7, therebycausing the pin 39 to engage the abutment 41a of the bell crank 4| and.tilt the bell crank to the position illustrated in dotted lines. Thistilting of the bell crank slides the cup dispenser actuator 32a to itscup-releasing position and the cup C in the bottom of the actuator willdrop as I illustrated in dotted lines to be guided by fingers Finupright position on a platform P carried by "the cabinet to'positiorithe cup beneath the dispenser nozzle of the unit 24. Furtherrotation of the gear 36 moves the pin 39 beyond. the abut-'-'ment*4la'-and1against the inclined shoe 41b to tilt the bell crankback to its initial position thereby titled; Carbonating Device,U."'-Si'Serial 579,- lc "r'eturningtheactuator 32a to its starting posi- 097,filed February 21, 1945;r'1owP'ate'n't'No. 2,402,- 132, granted June 18,1946.

A carbon dioxide-containing tank 21 is mounted on the back of thecabinet II on a suitable N bracket as shown irYFigure 2, and dischargesfCO'2 as through atube' 22 into the carbonator "2 0. Carbonated" waterfrom the *c'arbonator" 2 0 is'dischargedthrough a'pi'pe 23 havingbranches 23a communicating with two mixing and'dis'pens- "'ing units24.WhiltWo such units are disclosed, it should'beundersto'od' thatanynumberof units ""can'be used. p r r Two separate syrup tanks- 25 andi'fi'aremounted in' the'brine tank [8 and each" syrup tank has its ownseparate'drain line -2'l"cornmunicati'ng with a mixingand"dispensing -unit24. Inthis manner; while a single l carbonator 28 supplies charged watertobothof the unit's-24;'each'unit has its own's'yrup tank'and syrup feedpipe so that contamination offiavors is not possible.

A' cold'plate or evaporator unit 28' is-mounted in'the brine tank 18-andis connected-through tubes 29 with the rest of -th'e'refr-ig'eratorapparatus' i2 in the bottom ofthe cabinetfor circula- "tion ofrefrigerant The cold plate 28 cools*the brine in the tank 'l-8 ofsimultaneously"refrigerate water in the coil IQ/charged water in thecarbonator- 2 6; and syrup in "the" tanks 2 5 -'and 2 6.

Asshown in Figure 1, each mixing and dispensing unit 24 has an electricinotor tfi associated therewith. Paper cup d-isp'ens'ers i'll and az aremounted on each -s'ide ofeach mot r-3o.

- As shown iriFigure 5; the rnotoi"-39 has a reduc- 'tion gear housingfilddepending therefrorii driving a pinion 33 at about a 25;-to l'spe'ed' reduc- 'tion. A-spindle bolt-"34 is car ried by a bracket 35 onthe front face of{-the'-brine tank- I8 and rotat- 1 ably supports age'ar '36n'i'eshed with the pinion 35.?Thisgear36'driVeS a sleeve 31onthespindle "to rotate a'vertical'cani 38 for a'purposeto be more fullyhereinafter described.

As' 'shown in Figures (Sand 7; the gear -36-has a --pin or lug 39projecting from. the" rear face' thereof adjacent the periphery of thegear. A-b'ell "crank 40 is pivoted on the cup dispenser 3 l and 1 has adependingleg sli'd'ably pinned-to'th dispenser actuator 3la. Theothera'rm 'ofthe 'bell abutment portion 40a thereon lying in the path ofthe pin 39.

"on theend of this armofthe bell crankinsp'aced relation from theabutfn'ent 4fla.

The cup dispenser 32'has a 'similarbell-crank '4 tpivoted thereon with adepending leg slidably pinned to the dispenser actuator '3'1Za and with.

:the other legthereof overlying the back face of the gear 36 and-havingan abutment 4|a thereon "together with'an inclinedshoe 41b in spaced-'rela- 'tion' from-the abutment.

. The-motor Blldrives the gear 36-inthe-direc- An inclined shoe 49b. isfor-inedtion. When the'pin returns the bell crank to its 1 initialposition i-t can clear the top of the shoe 4 I b,

and the shoe will then rest on the spindle bolt 34asshowrr in Figure '7.Continued rotation of 20 the gear will next bring the pin 39 intoengagefor tilting- 'the' bell crank 'to'imove the amp dispenser actuator'34 a f-to its' cup release' position,

- and-'further movement'of the pin'then causes the forretu'rning the'bellrcrankto itsinitial position.

1 "The-cup dispenseractuators 3.1a and 32a are pin 3 3 and the'conventional;- spring 1 return f or such 1 actuatorsii's eliminated.:The cup-dispenser actuators are -'of' "well-known construction thatserve to' discharge one cup'at a time Whenthe actuators are .slidablymoved -=in their. 'slotsas shown.

A full revolution of the gear 3 6- thus-results in a-discharge' of"- one-cup f'rom -each dispenser 3 i and 32. I 'Thedispensers-thusalternately. supply "the unit =24 with cups The use of-two=cupdispensers in place of one'increasesthe drink-dis- I pensing capacityf0r each unit'i 4.

As shown in-Figures 1 and l 2, -the=cabinet l l.- is equipped with 2;drawer D beneath the-platforms I P to s'erve as 'a-receptacle indisposing.otcups C after individual servings.

-' as -best shown -in-Figure 8. This-.yoke 44=.has a link bar 4fipivoted thereon: and in :turn pivoted to a-= lever-41 extendingupwardly'in-front .oi the cam--38 and=having -itszupper-end pivoted to apin 48' carried by the'bracket plate-35 as shown in-Figure 5.

The measuring and dispensing unit 24- shown in Figure 8ismore=oful1y--deseribedand claimed in my 'ccpending: applicationentitled: 5 fDispens- -ing' Apparatus, -U-.-S.-Serial 5 90-,649, filedApril 55 27,- l945;-now-Paten-t No-.--2,52 7,250, dated October-24,.-1950. "The -unit -24- inc1udes the measuring '-valve 45. a Aguard-plate G- secured onthe unit-24 bottoms a spring S to hold themeasuring valve'45 in -the=houSing.--= Abal-l bearing B. is interposed-betweemthe spring S-- and guard G :so that the :springwillnotinterfere-with rotation of the valve 45. The valve 45 is thus 'rotatablymounted in the-casing of the-unit, and-has a measuring chamber M.Ce-therein: receivingsyrup from thepipe -21 through a cam-actuated:shut-off valve 49.

the valve 49 against pressure of the spring 53,

to permit syrup to flow into the measuring chamber M. C. When thisoccurs, the outlet opening 55 for the measuring chamber is out ofregistration with a port 56 so that the measuring chamber is closed.'The port 55 communicates with adump chamber D. C. for receiving thesyrup. A valve casing or tube 5? extends across the dump chamber-D. C.and receives charged Water from the pipe 230.. This tube 57 has a valveseat 51a therein normally closed by a spring-pressed valve 58 having apin 59 projecting forwardly therefrom out of the front end of the unit24. A rocker arm 55 overlies the pin 59 and is actuated by a cam roller6| which engages a cam 62 on the front face of the measuring valve 45.Charged water is discharged, when the valve 58 is opened, into a chamber53 and drained therefrom through a tube 64 entering the dispenser nozzle65 for the unit. This nozzle 65 has apertures 56 around the peripherythereof discharging the charged water into a valve carriage 5i having avalve head 58 closing a drain port at the bottom of the dump chamber D.C. A cam 69 on the periphery of the measuring valve 45 acts on a roller10 to depress a yoke H which lowers the valve carriage 67 against thepressure of the spring 12 in the nozzle. The spring l2 acts on a plunger13 which in turn acts on pins l4 holding the valve carriage 67 in closedposition. The cams 52 and 69 open the valves 58 and 68 simultaneously sothat the syrup from the dump chamber D. C. and the charged water fromthe valve chamber 57 are discharged simultaneously along the inner andouter faces of the valve carriage 6'! to be mixed and guided by a shield15 into a cup on the platform P.

The cam 38 driven by the motor 30 is rotated in the direction shown bythe arrow in Figure 3 to move a driving edge 38b thereof into engagementwith the roller 43 and thereupon rock the measuring valve 45 to causethe cams 62 and 6-9 thereon to open the charged Water valve 58 and thedump valve 58 thereby dispensing a drink containing charged waterissuing from the tube 54 and syrup contained in the dump chamber D. C.This rotation of the measuring valve 45 also moves the dump opening 55thereof out of registration with the port 56 to close the measuringchamber M. C. The cam 50 in this measuring chamber then opens the valve49 to admit syrup into the measuring chamber for filling the chamber.The cam lobe 38 then passes over the roller 43 as illustrated in dottedlines in Figure 3. When the cam roller is in this dotted line positionthe lever 4i has been swung over the dotted line position and the pin 42on the other cam lobe 38 then engages the lever to push it back to thefull line position thereby returning the cam roller and rocking themeasuring valve 45 back to the position shown in Figure 8. On thisreturn movement of the measuring valve 45 the shut-ofi valve 49 isclosed and the discharge opening 55 of the valve is placed inregistration with the port 56 to dump the measured quantity of syrup inthe measuring chamber M. C. into the dump chamber D. C. where it is heldfor dispensing the next ,6 the gear by the driving motor, a cup will bedispensed from one dispenser 3| or 32, a drink will be dispensed fromthe unit 24,'the dispenser actuator will be returned to initialposition, and the mechanism in the unit 24 will be returned to itsinitial position. Then the other cup dispenser will be actuated torelease a cup, the unit 24 will be actuated to dispense another drinkinto the cup, and the cup dispenser and unit will be returned to initialposition. During drink dispensing by the unit 24, the measuring valve isreceiving a new charge of syrup for the next drink and, as the measuringvalve is returned to initial position, this measured charge of syrup isdumped into the dump chamber where it is held until the next drink isdispensed.

Preferably the speed arrangement is such that two seconds are allowedfor dispensing a cup; two seconds are allowed for dispensing a. drink inthe cup; and two seconds are allowed for possible override of theelectric motor without interfering with any of the operations or thesequence of operation. In this manner, no brake need be provided on themotor since the two second override period is ample to accommodate anypossible coasting of the motor after it has been de-energized. As shownin Figures 1 and 2, suitable electrical relay mechanism is provided in abox 16 in the top of the cabinet. Standard coin-actuated relay can beused.

From the above descriptions it will be understood that the machines ofthis invention require only a single refrigerator unit and carbonatorfor dispensing a plurality of differently flavored drinks Whileeliminating all possibility of contamination of one drink flavor, withanother. I-Ieretofore-required spring returns and the likespring-actuated mechanisms have been substantially eliminated so thatthe driving motor need only have relatively low torque load capacity. Atthe same time, positive driving and return movements are obtained. Thecam actuating and pin means for the unit are of simple construction andare directly driven from the electric motor thereby eliminating possiblesources of faulty timing due to complicated arrangements.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. 'In a drink dispensing apparatus a valve unit having a rockablemeasuring valve with a measuring chamber therein, a dump chamber, acharged water valve and a dispensing valve for emptying said dumpchamber, an electric motor driven cam having abutment means for rockinsaid measuring valve, lug means for returning the rocked measuring valveto initial position, and cams on said measuring valve for actuating thecharged water valve and the dispensing valve to open said valves whenthe measurin valve is in rocked position.

2. In a drink dispensing apparatus an electric motor, cam and lug meansdriven by said electric motor, a cup dispenser, a rocking memberactuated by said lug means releasing a cup from said dispenser to moveby gravity into position for filling, a mixing and dispensing valve unitincluding a rotatable measuring valve actuated by said cam means and adispensing valve actuated by

